Tim Hortons bans complaining customer for life

I shrug and go somewhere else. My parents taught me when I was very young that I don't always get what I want and that's okay.

Everybody-get-the-fuck-out-right-now was the official store policy when I worked at Subway, Hardee's and a local burger joint. Burger King did too, but technically we stopped letting people in an hour before the drive-through closed so it never actually came up.

Now, we didn't always follow through with that policy, but it was on the books. Hardee's even had a big section on it in their training video, how it was a security hazard and opened the store up to being robbed.

I'm not asking you to not go in. I'm asking you to calmly accept it if the employee's use their judgment and tell you that your order can't be filled by closing time so they can't accept it.

 

If you mean deadline as in call-in deadline, then obviously the 10:45 game gets in. But if 11 is the deadline for getting the page out, then that 10:45 game isn't getting into any paper I've ever been at.

It's actually quite a good parallel. If the off-the-floor deadline is 11 p.m., you can't be pushing the send button at 10:59, because you won't make that deadline.

 

Read my earlier posts, you fucking moron. I said I worked at Cracker Barrel. Not Crate and Barrel. Cracker Barrel. It's a restaurant. That's a place where they serve food to people who pay for it and the service to get it to them. Here's their link. Sorry for the single post, but it must be said. Look, you obviously don't know shit about reading comprehension, so please just stop discussing any topic.

PROTIP: YOU DON'T SHUT DOWN THE HOUSE WHEN IT'S STILL OPEN. There may be closedown tasks you can do when things are slow and towards the end, but you don't take yourself out of commission because it's not busy. If you say you're open until 10, then you're open until 10. You don't cash out the registers or the wait staff still on the clock until the store is closed and there's no more open tickets. What's so galling about that?

So don't close at an arbitrary hour, but deny service while staying "open" at an arbitrary hour. Got it.

Sorry the service industry didn't do you right, but if they place is open, THE PLACE IS OPEN. Or do you advocate Best Buy shutting down the registers at 8:30 because they aren't getting good business? Or do you advocate the grocery store telling you that you can't buy anything 30 minutes before close because there's a chance you'll still be in the checkout line at 9 p.m.? Or do you advocate McDonald's shutting down breakfast at 10:10, even though they advertise serving until 10:30, because someone asked to buy a Big Mac?

Adhere to the posted hours. If there's a caveat, make that known. Laundromats have signs that say that the last load has to start no later than one hour before close. How hard would it be for a restaurant to say "kitchen closes at 8 p.m." or "we stop serving at 9 p.m." or "we switch to the limited menu at 10 p.m."? I've seen it done before. It's not impossible.

 

Interesting sidenote to your last item there: In Britain, we still have Sunday trading hours, which mean that larger stores (Tesco, Asda, etc.) can only open for 6 hours on Sundays. Almost all of them do it from 10-4.

And 10-4 means 10-4. If you're in line at 4, and you haven't paid yet, you can't pay. They make numerous announcements to that effect, so no one's surprised by it. But at least in that case, closing time is in fact closing time.

Other stores, that are more showroom-centered (mattress stores, furniture stores, etc.) will open their doors at something like 9:30 so that people can look around. But you can't actually buy anything until 10, or whenever their designated selling time begins.

And as far as Best Buy is concerned, they won't tell you you can't buy something at 8:30. But if you go in there at 8:30 and say, I'm looking to buy a brand-new computer with all the bells and whistles, then they'll politely tell you it's better to come back tomorrow.

 

So you're OK with not living up to the advertised closing hours? You'd have no problem if McDonald's stopped serving breakfast 20 minutes before they say they do, or if Target closed their registers 30 minutes before close because they wanted to make it a short night, even as you're scrambling there to get something you need?

Fast food is different than sit-down restaurants, but you didn't stop selling food to people before the posted closing time, right? And I can't imagine Subway or Hardee's having as its store policy "we close at this time, but you can shut down the grill at your discretion."

And Burger King (ditto with McDonald's, Taco Bell and Wendy's, and probably other fast food places) have separate posted hours for the dining room and the drive-through. If you say you're open until 11, but you shut down the dining room at 9, that's not exactly fair. If you say the dining room closes at 9 and the drive-through is open until midnight, well there you go.

If that's what they mean by closing time, then they're being deceptive. "We're open but you can't buy or do anything" isn't open. Closing time isn't (or shouldn't) be the judgment of individual employees, any more than opening time or the prices.

 

Right. They make the policy clear repeatedly, and it's part of the known culture there. That's their right. And restaurants have the right to stop service when they so choose. But it's unfair to the customer to set an invisible time when they stop serving, distinct from their posted hours of business. If they want to close the kitchen early, they should make it known to their customers that the kitchen closes at 8:30 or 10 p.m. or whatever.

I've been to a couple of them. They'll let people in before it's officially open, but since the registers aren't ready and everyone's not in their place, they don't do sales. However, if they had 10 a.m. as their posted opening hours but didn't sell anyone anything until 11 a.m., that would be deceptive.

I've been at Best Buy around closing time, and the computer salesmen are still getting their hooks into their prospective customers. And can you blame them? They're not likely going to let you walk away from a $1,000 purchase (and $350 extended warranty sale, if they're on their game) because it's on the verge of closing time. Because if you walk away, you might go somewhere else tomorrow, or just build the damned thing at Dell.

 

Interesting, I was reading a food blog that was talking about this exact same subject.

It was how lots of people weren't getting seated if it was near closing time. Smaller places were following the lead of high-end joints and the "seating time" policy they have. Some places have it noted on the doors, not that everyone notices.

So if the closing time was 9, they quit seating or letting people in at 8:30. With places that had drive-thrus, some were locking the doors at 8 and not letting people in. If a customer came up, they were told to use the drive-thru or go elsewhere.

The explanations were for security reasons and also cut down on the staff expense of keeping people around who were doing any work.

Also of note: Know I really want to eat at Tim Horton's.

 

I used to work as a lifeguard for a hotel pool and getting people out at closing time was sometimes a real pain in the ass.

We would close at 10, so what I would do is announce the pool was closing 15 minutes before. I'd blow the whistle and announce it if there were a lot of people in the pool, or, if there were only a few, I'd just walk around and tell them. Most of them usually liked that approach.

I'd also give a five-minute warning. To me, if people wanted to remain in the pool until 9:59.59, that was fine. At 10, I'd tell them we were closing and most would get out. I didn't mind if they took a few extra minutes to dry off and pack up. If it was 10:05 and they were still in the pool, that's when I'd start getting a little stern with them. If they weren't out by 10:06 or were mouthy to me, I'd call for the hotel security.

If someone walked through the gate at 9:59, I'd tell them we were closing, and if they wanted a quick jump-in, they could do that, but that was all.

We also had a hotel jacuzzi. I'd do the same warnings with them, but some of them would want to stay in. I would go in the back to turn the jets off on them. That usually gave them the hint.

Some would complain to the manager that I was rushing them out of there. The manager, bless his heart, always had my back and told them I was just doing my job.

 

Nope. I'd assume they had a good reason if they were doing it.

Of course it does. When I worked at Hardee's, they served fried chicken. It took about 45 minutes to prepare a batch. If someone came in at 9:59 and tried to order more fried chicken than we had, am I honor-bound to work 45 minutes over so the order can be filled?

Being open until 10 means we will fill any order that can be completed by 10. If you come in at 9:59, all I can do for you is probably a soft drink or change for a dollar.

Actually, yes, as we got closer to closing time, different things would be unavailable. Try ordering ice cream or a milkshake from most fast-food after 9 p.m., for example. They generally start cleaning the machine before closing time, and once it's being cleaned there's no turning back. Fried chicken was another example.

 

That's nice of you, and it's not like I'm going to go on a homicidal rampage if they do it to me, but if you make a habit of fudging your stated operational hours, I'm going to make a habit of not doing business with you.

And if it weren't for my undying and unrepentant love for the bacon, egg and cheese McGriddle, I'd probably blow off McDonald's for good if they randomly stopped serving breakfast at times prior to the posted hours (I live in a wonderful, wonderful land where they actually serve breakfast until 11).

I'll cede the point about items that take unusually long to make, such as fried chicken, though to be fair, they should let you know when they're turning off the chicken fryer. But that's not the same as full denial of service when the open light is still on.

No, it means being open period. Or who's to say, if I'm closing and I feel particularly lazy, that I could tell people that I can't complete your order in time at 9:40? And you're absolutely fine with going to a place that's open, trying to make an order and having them tell you they shut down the grill earlier than usual because they assumed they wouldn't get any more business that night, even though they're still open?

Funny you mention milkshakes. There's a Burger King across the street from my neighborhood that stays open until midnight (at least the drive-thru). Every once in a while, I'll hanker for a late-night milkshake, usually after covering something late. So I'll go there the first time at 11:30.

"Sorry, milkshake machine's off."

OK. I drive away, because Burger King sucks for everything else. Next time, get there around 11:30, forgetting the first experience.

"Sorry, milkshake machine's off."
"Oh? When do you shut it down?"
"11 p.m."

Hmmm, I think to myself, it'd be awfully nice if they told you that up front. But lesson learned, don't come here after 11 if I want a milkshake. And I leave, because Burger King sucks for everything else.

Next time, get there around 10:45. I get my milkshake. Yay.

Then I get there at 10:30.

"Sorry, we aren't serving milkshakes anymore"
"But you guys said you serve them until 11!"
"Sir, we're not selling milkshakes anymore"

And that's the last time I went to Burger King. Inconsistency, lack of communication and an abundance of attitude do not a good dining experience make.

By contrast: Wendy's is open until 1 and Taco Bell until 3, and everything's available until the end.

By contrast, part deux: The 24-hour McDonald's drive-thrus have a limited menu from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. They tell you this upfront, both with signage and with the person running the drive-thru that night. Milkshakes are not on the late-night menu, but they make it clear what you can and can't get.

 

Aw, that's cute, questioning my reading comprehension, I've never seen that before. AND I LOVE HOW YOU USE ALL CAPS, YOU R SO SMRT, AREN'T YOU? No since arguing with that (*cough* dipshit *cough*).

Whoa, wait a minute, but I thought that...yeah, you just made a joke about reading comprehension then proceed to not understand what I wrote. Thanks for making yourself look like a dumbass for me, that was sweet of you! Look dumbfuck, I'll lay it out for you in nice clear terms so you don't have to hurt your little brain, m'kay? The restaurant I worked at closes at 10:30 on Fridays and 10:00 on Saturdays all year round, and at 9:00 Sunday-Thursday during the winter, 9:30 the rest of the year.

Most of the time, we have a steady stream of business that necessitates staying open so late, particularly in the summer. In the winter time, we occasionally have a friday or saturday here and there that dies off a little early. If it's an hour or more, we usually pull the plug a bit early or take carry-out only as per the owner's request. Now say, you have one or two tables up to about 45 minutes to a half hour to go. Technically you still have business within the hour, but 9 times out of 10 you can get away with cleaning up pretty much everything (note how I said nothing about already counting the money; I loved how you assumed and threw that one in, but I, like I'm sure most responsible managers, wait to perform that task last). Now, occasionally you have the odd family come in with a few minutes to go.

What you don't understand about my argument, and what makes it so humorous that you think I can't read, is that I said you have to smile through the anger and give them the same experience you would give a considerate customer. Not doing so would be wrong, even if they came in with less than a minute to spare. But the fact of the matter is that unless they are oblivious (in which case that's a whole other set of issues), they know that you were mere moments away from closing up. Hence, they think their time is more important and thus, are inconsiderate. There are always exceptions, too, like the family of tourists that did, like you say, get done late with their day that actually do feel for us and either get carry-out or noticeably hurry to finish their meal. But generally, if you here someone walk in at five 'til close and say 'Oh, good, you're still open!' without consulting what time you lock up or don't care once you do go over moments later and lock the doors, they are most definitely inconsiderate assholes. Before I make assumptions, in the likely event that you actually try to defend the indefensible in this situation, what did you do when working at Crate and Barrel?

God, I hate when people do this, that's completely different and you know it, don't be a dick, please, it's very unbecoming. Best Buy and a Grocery Store don't have near the list of closing tasks that a full-service restaurant does, and if so, they can still get pretty much everything done while the customer shops, which at worst, would take what 15, 20 minutes? And I don't have a problem with someone who came in before one half of an hour until close staying a little after closing time, so your argument about refusing people already in line holds no water (as a rule, I don't eat at a restaurant within 30 minutes of their closing time; doing so outs a person as a self-centered, inconsiderate prick). And it's so comical that you bring up breakfast, what does that have to do with closing time! I'm arguing about people who don't care that you are nearly closed and ready to get on with your night (which, for some, can be a short night if they are scheduled to return first thing in the morning). The breakfast thing is irrelevant because McDonald's is still open after breakfast is over. Though from the sound of it, you're the type of person that gets pissed because he can't get his hashbrowns at 10:45.

(An aside: A quick story about a person that shares many of your values and views when it comes to dealing with a fellow human being. I once took an order twenty minutes until close for a family that called ahead to dine in. I said it was fine, just know that if they do not make it by our closing time we'll have to box it up for a carry-out order. She agreed, then proceeded to bring her family in through the carry-out door and yell at me for not letting them dine in. I wish I remembered her name, I could give you her number then as I'm sure she'd be your kind of girl.)

See, the thing is that I do adhere to the posted hours, you idiot, I just think, nay, I know, that people who feel that it's perfectly fine to dine in one minute until close are asses, plain and simple. There shouldn't be a need for a caveat, since, thankfully, these types of customers, at least in my experience, are relatively rare. But since we don't have the caveat, again, we suck it up and deal with them in a cordial manner--but your argument that I should shut it up and like it because of the posted hours is so loony and out-of-touch, I'm embarrassed for your lack of human interaction skills and manners. It's not hard, it's not impossible; it's stupid to have such hours if you only experience the situation once or twice a month. Again, if we are hopping until closing time, I'm of the opinion that we've got a busy night and we just need to suck it up; but if someone walks into an empty restaurant at a bit before lockup and thinks it's okay to eat in, they are in the wrong.

 

Restaurants are private businesses. If they want to keep arbitrary hours, so be it. If they want to turn away customers, so be it. The same goes for Best Buy and just about any other company.

I get that people want to read signs and go by the hours posted, but sometimes that doesn’t always work out. Oh well.